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Photos provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Marc Cohn, Molly Ringwald, Phil Vassar
Marc Cohn, Molly Ringwald and Phil Vassar are scheduled to be part of the 2016-17 Hoover Library Theatre season at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Dailey & Vincent
The Dailey & Vincent bluegrass, traditional country and gospel duo and their band are scheduled to perform Nov. 16-18, 2016, at the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, Alabama.
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Photo provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Rhythmic Circus
The Rhythmic Circus tap dance and funk band show is coming to the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, Alabama, on Dec. 2-3, 2016.
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Photo provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Zoe Speaks
The Zoe Speaks mountain music band is scheduled to perform at the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, Alabama, on Feb. 22-23, 2017.
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Photo provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Celtic Tenors
The Celtic Tenors are scheduled to perform at the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, Alabama, on March 16-17, 2017.
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Photo provided by Hoover Library Theatre
Alabama Troubadours
The Alabama Troubadours are scheduled to perform at the Hoover Library Theatre in Hoover, Alabama, on April 20-21, 2017.
Grammy Award-winning pianist, singer and songwriter Marc Cohn will open the 25th anniversary season for the Hoover Library Theatre in October, library officials announced this week.
The entire lineup for the 2016-17 season was released Tuesday night and includes country music star Phil Vassar, actress and jazz singer Molly Ringwald, bluegrass, country and gospel singers Dailey & Vincent, the Celtic Tenors, the Zoe Speaks mountain music trio, the Alabama Troubadours folk band and the Rhythmic Circus percussive dance group.
“It’s a reunion season,” said Matina Johnson, the Hoover Public Library’s fine arts director.
All of the acts have performed at the Library Theatre in years past since the 250-seat theater first opened in 1991, Johnson said. Library officials wanted to bring back some of the best acts they’ve had, she said.
Some of the performers who have come to Hoover over the years, such as blues singer Odetta and guitarist Richie Havens, have died, and some of the companies that put on plays or other performances have long since dispersed. But the artists coming back for the 2016-17 season were some of the crowd favorites, Johnson said.
Here’s more about each of the acts:
Marc Cohn, Oct. 13-14, 7:30 p.m.
Cohn, who opened the 2008-09 Hoover Library Theatre season, incidentally is celebrating his 25th year as a performer as well. His stop in Hoover this year will be part of a 25th anniversary tour in which he performs his debut platinum-selling album in its entirety from start to finish, complete with photos and videos from his personal archives.
That self-titled album included the Grammy Award-winning song “Walking in Memphis,” which was nominated for Song of the Year and Best Pop Vocal at the 34th annual Grammy Awards in 1992. He won the Grammy for best new artist that year.
Cohn had two more releases in the 1990s and then went on a decadelong sabbatical that ended in 2007 with “Join the Parade,” which was inspired by the events following Hurricane Katrina and his own near-fatal shooting just weeks before, according to the bio on his website.
In March of this year, Cohn released his latest album, “Careful What You Dream: Lost Songs and Rarities” and the bonus album, “Evolution of a Record,” which features never-before-heard songs and demos dating back to years before his debut. His anniversary show allows fans to not only hear his music but to also see photos and videos of some of the people and places that populate his songs.
Dailey & Vincent, Nov. 16-18, 7:30 p.m.
This Grammy Award-winning duo is the only act for which the Library Theatre in the past had to open up a third show to accommodate high demand, Johnson said.
When they were chosen as openers for the 2013-14 season, tickets for their two shows sold out quickly, and there were more than 250 people on a waiting list the first week of ticket sales, she said. Library officials arranged a third show, and it sold out immediately, Johnson said.
Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent have won nine Grammy Awards individually and three as a duo that specializes in bluegrass, traditional country and gospel music since they came together in 2007. They also have won 35 International Bluegrass Music Association awards.
Since they performed in Hoover in 2013, they started a national cable music and entertainment series called “The Dailey & Vincent Show” on the RFD-TV cable channel aimed at rural America, and their PBS special, “Dailey & Vincent ALIVE – In Concert,” has aired in more than 84 markets. The special later was released as a live CD that debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard bluegrass charts and a DVD that debuted at No. 2 across all genres on the Billboard music video sales chart.
Rhythmic Circus, Dec. 2-3, 7:30 p.m.
This group began as an underground percussive dance act in Minneapolis when four tap dancers teamed up with a seven-piece Twin Cities’ big brass funk band, including beatboxer Aaron “Heatbox” Heaton.
They deliver a rapid-fire tap show that has won numerous awards, including two Upper Midwest Emmys, a Spirit of the Fringe Award at the 2012 Edinburgh Festival, and outstanding ensemble and performance awards from the Minnesota SAGE Awards for Dance.
They first performed at the Hoover Library Theatre in 2010 and will be returning this year to put on a new Christmas holiday-themed show.
Molly Ringwald, Jan. 12-13, 7:30 p.m.
Perhaps best known for her roles as an actress on stage and screen, Ringwald earned a Golden Globe at age 13 and starred in numerous iconic films, including “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Pretty in Pink.”
On stage, she has starred in Broadway productions of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “How I Learned To Drive,” the revival of “Cabaret,” the Tony-nominated “Enchanted April” and the London production of “When Harry Met Sally.”
More recently, she starred in “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” on the ABC Family channel and the 2015 movie “Jem and the Holograms.”
However, Ringwald’s return visit to the Hoover Library Theatre will highlight her jazz vocal skills. The daughter of blind jazz pianist Bob Ringwald, she first began performing jazz at age 3 with her father’s Fulton Street Jazz Band. She started out with Dixieland style jazz but has transitioned into more modern jazz and in April 2013 released an album of cover songs called “Except Sometimes,” which includes the Simple Minds song “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”
Since that time, she and her band have performed more than 200 concerts in at least seven countries.
She was a favorite among Hoover Library Theatre patrons in January 2014, some of whom came mostly to hear her music and others who were more interested in the meet-and-greet time, Johnson said.
Zoe Speaks, Feb. 22-23, 7:30 p.m.
This group of Kentucky musicians includes Mitch Barrett, Owen Reynolds and Carla Gover. They are known for their smooth, mellow instrumental mixes and close vocal harmonies.
From traditional ballads to award-winning originals, this trio often accompanies themselves with a guitar, claw hammer banjo, upright bass, dulcimers and occasionally clogging feet.
When they first performed at the Hoover Library Theatre in 2003, the oldest daughter of lead singers Barrett and Gover — Zoey Raven — was just a young child. When Zoe Speaks returns in February, she’ll be 19, and she not only speaks; she sings. She’ll be joining the group in song and on the fiddle on the Library Theatre stage.
Zoe Speaks has won numerous songwriting contests, including Merlefest’s Chris Austin Contest, The Telluride Troubadour Contest, The Kerrville New Folk Contest, The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriting Contest and The Flatrock Festival Song Contest. The trio has performed at places such as Merlefest, The Kennedy Center, The Kerrville Folk Festival and The Copenhagen Blues Festival.
The Celtic Tenors, March 16-17, 7:30 p.m.
The Irish trio of Matthew Gilsenan, James Nelson and Daryl Simpson has been performing together for at least 15 years, blending opera and traditional Irish music.
They stepped away from their classical roots and added a more contemporary edge that has proven popular.
The tenors have sold more than a million albums, including three that went platinum, according to their website. They’ve reached No. 1 chart positions in Ireland and Germany and No. 2 in the United Kingdom and have performed to private audiences that include world leaders such as Bill Clinton and Kofi Annan.
When they came to the Library Theatre in 2014, they shared a Christmas show, but this one will be more like one of their typical performances, Johnson said.
Alabama Troubadours, April 20-21, 7:30 p.m.
Singer/songwriter Karen Pell and her band take their audience on a vocal tour of out-of-the-way and unique places in Alabama, telling stories about the Ave Maria Grotto in Cullman, Coon Dog Cemetery in Cherokee and Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise.
Their debut performance was commissioned by Hoover Library Director and Southern Voices conference founder Linda Andrews as part of the 1998 Southern Voices gathering.
Now, 18 years later, they’re coming back for the 25th anniversary of Southern Voices to share more stories and original songs with sweet harmonies, Johnson said.
Their music will be complemented by the photography of Chip Cooper, who took pictures of the locales featured in their songs.
Phil Vassar, May 6, 4 and 7:30 p.m.
Vassar, a country music star from Nashville, has eight albums and three Songwriter of the Year awards to his credit.
He has written 10 No. 1 singles and 26 Top 40 hits, including “Carlene,” “Just Another Day In Paradise,” “Six-Pack Summer” and “That’s When I Love You.”
He has hit the Top 5 with seven of his own recordings, but written No. 1 hits for other singers, including “My Next Thirty Years” sung by Tim McGraw, and “Bye, Bye” and “I’m Alright” sung by Jo Dee Messina.
Vassar, who came to the Library Theatre in 2014, has a high-energy show and was one of the most requested performers among the ladies, Johnson said.
“Our crowds really went wild over him,” she said. “They’re like — just make sure he packs his jeans.”
Ticket sales
This year’s season is starting a month later than usual because of a project to renovate the art gallery and meeting room area outside the theater, but that project should be completed by Sept. 30, Johnson said.
The delayed start also meant a delay in the announcement of the lineup, and “everybody’s been asking,” she said.
Full-season ticket packages go on sale for last year’s full-season subscribers on Sept. 6 at 10 a.m., and new full-season subscribers can start to buy tickets on Sept. 8 at 10 a.m.
Tickets for individual shows will be available starting Sept. 9 at 10 a.m., and ticket exchanges begin Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. There is an order limit of six tickets per show, per patron, until Sept. 12 at 10 a.m. Seating is reserved, with no guarantee that the same seats are available for all performances purchased.
Tickets are $25 each, plus a processing fee of $2.50 per ticket. They can be bought online at hooverlibrary.org/thelibrarytheatre or by phone at 205-444-7888.
This article was updated on Jan. 13 to more accurately reflect Zoey Raven's age when Zoe Speaks first performed at the Hoover Library Theatre in 2003 and her age when the group returns in February.